Monday, 11 March 2013

Duality In Pisces

I have been thinking wistfully about what I could write on Meanderings sometime soon as it has been a while since I did so. It has to be something of a personal nature that expresses my inner thoughts, because that is what I wish this particular site to be about.

Something came up.

I was asked today if I believed in the duality in Pisces.

Now, let it be said that I do not follow Astrology or put any great weight on the substantiveness (having practical importance, value, or effect: Encarta dictionary) of the fortune telling capabilities of Astrologers. I think people tend to pick and choose what they want to hear from these sources to provide a level of comfort or minimal discomfort for their ego.

Spiritual work and Philosophical studies that I have done in the past, mainly some time ago now, has left me with a belief that, logically, there are likely to be subtle influences on all matter within the Universe brought about by the proximity of large bodies of matter such as planets and stars. By subtle influences I mean something akin to the gravitational effect these thing have, though I am prepared to accept that it may not only be the influence of gravity. I think that it would be generally accepted that all matter in the universe is gravitationally affected by, and exerts a gravitational effect on, all other matter in the universe.

Having said that, back to the duality of Pisces.

I am a Piscean. Birth Date: 17th March.

I like being a Piscean and I think that I am quite typical of that group of people. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the personality of the Piscean:

Although there is no scientific basis for characterizing personality traits from date of birth, traditional Western beliefs assert that Pisceans are perceptive, emotional, and reasonable. Pisceans are also said to desire reasoning for all actions, and are always capable of giving a reason. Notorious for being highly sensitive, they are also said to be desperately afraid of ridicule, as the sign is deemed "unfortunate." Pisces are a mutable sign, which makes them susceptible to change. Similarly, Pisces is classified as a "common sign," making them flexible and vacillating in nature. As a bicorporeal sign, astrologists believe that events in Pisceans lives are prominently repeated, suggesting that they may marry several times and that misfortunes never come singly. However according to astrologer Max Heindel*, the Piscean's "good fortune also comes in multiple."

Conforming to the traditional astrological belief of the dual nature of the Piscean, in part seeking enlightenment in the "unseen realm," they are said to be "dreamy, mystical, and artistic."Edgar Cayce, an alleged psychic, has been cited as an example of such a Piscean. It is also been said that Pisceans are the quietest among the twelve zodiacal signs, and that they are good workers. In line with their association with feet, Pisceans have been described as being "never quite satisfied when sitting," preferring to be standing or walking.

*I studied the Astrology of Max Heindel at one stage. He takes a more pragmatic approach to the subject than the regular flimsy fluff put out by most Astrologers. I downloaded his manuals and the annual charts still put out (I think) by the organisation he once formed, The Rosicrucian Fellowship. It all became too difficult to follow by my poor tired brain so I gave up. Maybe I will try again when I have nothing else to do.

Pisces contains all previous eleven signs. Pisces is the two fish, connected by a silvery cord. One fish is the personality, the other the Soul. They represent the duality all of humanity experiences. Being both animal and divine, we experience simultaneously feelings of attraction and separation, passion and despair, suffering and bliss.

So, the two fishes of the Pisces symbol represent that duality. Unfortunately, many depictions of that symbol incorrectly have those fish swimming in opposite directions. This is not how it actually appears in the astral configuration in the night sky. There, one fish is swimming upwards while the other is swimming in the same direction but level along the line of the ecliptic. Some might say, and I tend to like the idea, that this represents the dual aspect of Pisceans in that they split their energies between pursuing the more spiritual aspects of life as well as the more mundane things of the physical/natural world.

All of that, take, for whatever it is worth to yourself.

This year, 2013, there is another unusual aspect of duality in March, covering the Piscean zodiacal period. It relates to the path of the planet Mercury through the skies as viewed from Earth.

Mercury entered Pisces this year by turning retrograde from Feb 23 and will go direct (change direction) on my birthday March 17. It will finally catch up to where it left off on April 6. So, for half of the period it will be going in one direction and for the second half in the other direction. That is a duality if there ever was one. I wonder if I will feel any different influences from the 17th? I certainly have been feeling as though I am not making much in the way of progress for the last few weeks.

If you don't understand the concept of retrograde and direct motion, the first thing to know is that planets do not change their direction of travel. It just appears that they do to viewers standing on another planet.

It is easiest to see it like this. The solar system is like a number of small balls (planets) travelling in circles around a large ball (the Sun) in the same direction as each other. They all travel at different speeds and because of this, from time to time, when viewed from the surface of one of the balls, another ball may appear to be going backwards. It isn't actually going backwards but it looks like it is to the viewer. A little further around the circle the backward travelling ball will appear to start going in the right direction again. It will eventually catch up to the place where it appeared to first be going backwards and then everything will appear to be going as normal again. It is all smoke and mirrors really but it seems to hold great significance to those involved in Astronomy.

I will finish where I started. Perhaps there is some subtle difference in the subtle influences from such apparent differences in motion. I wouldn't be surprised, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it either.